Concerts and Events in New England | Craig and Steph's Vacations Photo Galleries

2019 Adrian Belew

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Adrian Belew Quartet at Center for Arts Natick (TCAN) 4/18/2019 Being able to see his guitar virtuosity in such an intimate venue was a great experience. The quartet was very tight and had such great energy! Appreciate that he took the time to meet fans afterwards; honored to get to shake his hand. At one point, he addressed the audience as "Massachusians" and then followed it up with "That's not right. What do you call yourselves?" Literally about half the audience shouted out in unison "Massholes!" He couldn't figure out what they were saying until bassist Julie Slick repeated it for him. "Massholes?!" he said incredulously and started to laugh. "I like that. You're self-deprecating. I practice that myself!" Julie Slick (bass), Jordan Perlson (drums), Saul Zonana (Keys, guitar, vocals)

2019 Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets

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Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA, 4/13/2019 Craig, Steve, and I attended this concert with Emily, and ran into Kevin afterwards. Show was amazing - how can Nick Mason keep up that complex drumming at age 75?

2019 Eliza Neals and the Narcotics

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2018 Jewel's Handmade Holiday Tour

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12/12/2018 Chevalier Theatre, Medford, MA We enjoy Jewel's music, and we also enjoy her family's TV series "Alaska: The Last Frontier" which documents the Kilcher clan's homesteading life in Alaska. So when we saw that Jewel, her dad Atz, and brothers Atz Lee and Nikos would be touring with a holiday show, we were eager to attend. Jewel has said that it is a good way for the family to spend time together at the holidays. They also sell handmade crafts, the kinds of things they would give each other at Christmas as a homestead tradition. When we entered the lobby of the theater, I stopped at the merchandise table. I chose a wooden Christmas ornament and was looking for other things to buy when Atz appeared. I purchased his book, which he inscribed to us, and got a selfie with him. Unfortunately, Craig had become separated from me as people crowded the merchandise table. But you can see him in the background of the selfie! After that, we were standing off to the side of the lobby when Atz's wife Bonnie Dupree came down the stairs. We said hello to her and she was incredibly sweet, chatting with us for about 5 minutes. We talked about holiday plans, Bonnie's childhood visits to the North Shore, and MS, which Craig has in common with Atz and Bonnie's daughter-in-law Kelli. She was incredibly friendly and gracious. We went to our seats. The show started with Nikos, Atz Lee, and Atz performing on acoustic guitar and stand-up bass. They were for a couple of songs by Jewel's 7-year-old son Kase, who sang and played jaw harp to thunderous applause. (Jewel would later say that he won the hand-made merchandise content, as his bath bombs had long since sold out!) After their opening set, Jewel performed Christmas songs, hits, and requests a capella, on acoustic guitar, and with band. She yodeled with Atz, she sang with her brothers, and she embarrassed her best friend Christopher by pointing out that his fly was down. The camaraderie was heartwarming, and they were keen to bust one another's chops. Jewel is a vocal powerhouse and can sing anything from opera to folk to pop to soulful gospel. When not onstage, the charming Atz was roaming the audience, taking video on his phone as the audience sang along, and plucking women from the audience for a slow dance in the aisles. Home movies and family photos were projected on the stage. At the end of the show, the men donned ugly Xmas sweaters and snow fell onstage. It was a wonderful evening of around 2.5 hours of music and holiday cheer; just the thing to get us into the Christmas spirit!

2018 Eliza Neals and the Narcotics

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Amazing show by Eliza Neals and the Narcotics at Chan's in Woonsocket. We got a small taste of her talent at JCAST in Jersey City 2 years ago, and have been wanting to see her in concert ever since. She did not disappoint! Her normal guitarist Howard Glazer was sidelined with an injury, but session veteran Alan Schwartz did a great job filling in with 2 days notice, adding a lot of spontaneity and fun to the set. Got to say hello to Eliza before and after the show, and she was super sweet and gracious. And we got to hear one of Alan Schwartz's patented dirty jokes on our way to the car. Although Chan's is a bit of a drive for us, it is a great venue. It has superb sound quality. Tonight's crowd was not huge, but everyone was really into the performance, hanging on every note, and demanding an encore.

2017 Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker

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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11/28/2017 Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, MA Though we toured the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow earlier this year, we did not have the opportunity to attend a ballet performance. So we jumped at the chance to see a Russian company perform the beloved Nutcracker. Our ticket package included a backstage tour, which was quite enjoyable. Tour manager Nicolas greeted us and brought us backstage. We met dancers Yuriy Kuzo and Mykhailo Shcherbakov, both from Kiev. Mykhailo donned his nutcracker mask and posed for photos with us. We met costume designer Arthur Oliver, who proudly showed off the three-headed Rat King costume, with its glowing red eyes. He told us that all of the costumes are made in St. Petersburg. When we saw all of the bright, beautiful, sparkling costumes during the performance against the amazing set backdrops, it called to mind the opulence of czarist Russia With just five minutes until curtain, Nicolas concluded the tour and we went to our seats. It had been a lovely experience. The performance was amazing. It was a very intimate performance and it felt quite personal. It was fun to see Yuriy and Mykhailo onstage after chatting with them before the show. They had both mentioned how ballet is their passion, and it showed! The choreography was unique. The second act begins with the Dove of Peace. The dove is created by a male dancer and a female dancer. Each has a feathered wing attached to one arm. Their synchronized movements create the illusion of a dove. The dancers exhibit both grace and strength. Another highlight was the Arabian variation. The choreography between the male and female dancer almost looked like partner yoga at times, with them displaying amazing strength and flexibility.